Edited by Michael Petzet and John Ziesemer

The new World Report 2006/2007 on Monuments and Sites in Danger provides a broad spectrum of threats in the different regions of the world. Apart from 40 National Reports there are also current reports on cross-national topics, such as endangered rock paintings in North Africa and Australia, threats to vernacular architecture or to our archaeological heritage. Many of the threats discussed in the previous Heritage at Risk reports still exist, for instance dam projects in Turkey or threats to cultural heritage caused by military conflicts in Iraq and the Near East. Often conservation concerns are being sacrificed for purely commercial interests. This is being demonstrated for example by skyscraper projects in St Petersburg, Prague, Istanbul or Vienna exceeding all traditional dimensions or by the disfigurement of historic town quarters and cultural landscapes in countries such as Hungary, Romania or Moldova.

For the first time, the World Report 2006/2007 also contains a number of studies dealing with the effects of the worldwide climate change on our cultural heritage. Case studies demonstrate how different world regions, for instance the Canadian coastline, the Antarctic and Southern Europe, are already affected by climate change. Being aware of this interaction between natural and cultural heritage, ICOMOS has increased its commitment in Brazil by recently declaring the tropical rainforest of Amazonia a "monument of nature".

Heritage at risk: ICOMOS World Report 2008-2010on Monuments and Sites in Danger

Edited by Christoph Machat, Michael Petzet and John Ziesemer

Heritage at Risk 2008-2010 Report is a world report on monuments and sites in danger in many countries across the globe. With prefaces by the Assistant Director General for UNESCO, Francesco Bandarin, and ICOMOS President Gustavo Araoz, this sixth volume, which for the first time includes a comprehensive index of all cases or sites discussed in H@R reports published since 2000, provides a certain overview of the dangers, problems and trends regarding the protection of monuments and sites in the different regions of the world.

Reports from 40 countries illustrate the broad range of threats faced by our cultural heritage. Particular emphasis is placed this time on the consequences of recent devastating earthquakes and other natural disasters (including Chile, China, Haiti, Italy and New Zealand). In addition, there are reports on dam projects in Turkey, Pakistan and Brazil; on threats to the historic towns of Istanbul and Jeddah as well as on the Temple of Preah Vihear in Cambodia which is suffering from a border conflict. The report also informs on the measures undertaken to save the Buddhas of Bamiyan and the Buddhist monasteries of Mès Ainak in Afghanistan, endangered by a copper mining project. Besides reports on problematic new development projects in Budapest, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv and Vienna, a detailed report deals with the continuing critical situation of Russian avant-garde architecture, especially in Moscow.

ICOMOS expresses its deep gratitude to Michael Petzet, former President of ICOMOS International, who after a decade as editor is handing over work on future Heritage at Risk reports to Christoph Machat, member of the Executive Committee. ICOMOS is also thankful to the German Federal Government Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and the Media for funding this edition.

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Hard copyThe complete report can be obtained in hard copy (free, except for the postage) from the ICOMOS Documentation Centre. Contact: documentation[at]icomos.org